


Ta Dah!

by jongleur



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Romance, sorry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-06
Updated: 2013-06-06
Packaged: 2017-12-14 02:26:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/831649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jongleur/pseuds/jongleur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>as harry sits on a chair in the bistro three blocks away from his flat, he thinks that baring his soul to a stranger is all kinds of fucked up. especially when said stranger is the boy he just found his boyfriend cheating on him with.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ta Dah!

**Author's Note:**

> i had this idea in my head and it was awesome but now that i wrote i must apologize. i only published this because i haven't published anything in like a month. also, i should stop with the fluff. title taken by MIKA's song by the same name. 3k of awkwardness and cake.

-o-

Usually, Louis never went for the douchebags.

 _Usually_   being the key word; so, as he followed Dan up the stairs, he pretended to listen to the slightly older man babble on about _golf_ of all things.

Really, you couldn’t blame Louis, he _needed_ to get laid. He had had a very bad week—wait, no, a bad _month_.

His rent was due next Monday and he and Niall still didn’t have the money, he had an exam in two days, and yeah, he should have been studying, but, fuck, he was stressed. _And_ on top of that, his mother was visiting in a week, and Louis always had time for his mum, except this time, _he didn’t_.

So yeah, Dan was an absolute douche and, as far as Louis could gather, his hobbies included golf, and talking about himself a lot… _but_ he was fucking hot. Besides, it wasn’t like he was looking for a boyfriend; it was just a quick hookup on a Friday afternoon. Pretty normal stuff, huh. 

As soon as he entered Dan’s flat, which was pretty nice actually, he felt his lips being sucked by some plumper and wetter ones. Louis tried separating himself from the eager man, but he was having none of it and at the end, Louis gave up. They kissed for a few more minutes until the now-so-annoying-but-still-hot Dan tried to unbuckle Louis’ trousers.

“Wait, wait—let’s take this to your room, shall we?” Louis resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

Dan sighed, “Alright, c’mere.”

As Dan tugged at Louis’ hand he looked around the flat. It was really big—Dan probably had a nice job— and he couldn’t help but notice the various pictures that hung from a wall. In most of them there seemed to be a curly haired lad, very pretty.

“Who’s that? You didn’t mention a boyfriend.” Louis panicked.

Dan noticed this and shrugged, “He isn’t my boyfriend, he’s my flat mate. Don’t worry, _and c’mon_.”

Louis followed him sighing in relief.

They took things faster that Louis would’ve thought; Dan had a really good body, but damn it, he could work on his tongue.

They were in that blissful moment when all they needed to do was discard their briefs. Their bodies grinded together while Dan was on top of Louis, he really enjoyed the warm touches, if maybe they were a bit rough. God, he really missed all of this. Really good for pent up tension.

Of course, when there’s a really fit guy who’s almost naked on top of you and he’s doing nice stuff with his hands on all the right places, you certainly don’t pay much attention to your surroundings. You sure as hell don’t hear if someone just entered your flat, or, in this case, your hook-up’s flat.

Louis had an almost naked man on top of him, don’t blame him.

On the other side of the flat, a lanky boy with wild curls and a bag of pastries on one hand, opened the door to his and his boyfriend’s flat. He hummed along to some ballad he had listened in the radio, as he dropped his jingling keys onto a bowl.

This boy, Harry was his name, danced to an unheard beat, unaware of what was happening just a few doors down.

He was happy, how could he not be? Harry had just heard the news he had gotten the photography internship he had worked all summer for. It was a good day, and good days were meant to be celebrated. That’s why he was home early, because he wanted to go out and celebrate with Dan.

“Oh, Daniel! Danny boy! I come bearing good news!” the curly haired boy started unbuttoning his shirt as he opened the door.

A moan.

What?

“You’re so hot, Louis.”

_Was that Daniel?_

He opened the door fully.

Two gasps, one moan.

One of the gasps belonged to Louis, the university student with so many exams he was almost dying of exhaustion, the boy who had hooked up with Danny.

“ _How could you, Daniel_?!”

The other one belonged to Harry, the poor unsuspecting victim of Daniel’s promiscuity. He was wide eyed and horrified.  And how could he? He had brought chocolate biscuits, that bastard.

“ _You have a boyfriend_?!”

“Not anymore!” Harry yelled as he threw a shoe at them. He ran off, leaving a confused Dan and a raging Louis.

“You said he was your flat mate! Oh, god, I am now officially a home wrecker!” Louis cried as he picked up his clothes and dressed as quickly as he could.

“Wait, Louis, Harry!” Dan sputtered.

“ _Wait_? For what? You want to talk? I’d recommend you go after _him_ and talk…wait, no. Don’t, you’re an ass.”  With that Louis left the flat.

Dan was left speechless, with a raging boner, and not a single boy to help him out.

-o-

 

Louis felt embarrassed, he didn’t know exactly why, but he had a feeling it had something to do with the fact he was the reason a couple had just broken up.

Sure, it wasn’t _really_ his fault, he’d been an unwitting participant— a willing participant, but an unwitting one nonetheless. Besides, if Dan had been cheating on his boyfriend then it was better for the other bloke.

He sighed, sometimes he really hated London, why was it always so cold and wet? Louis held to his trench coat tighter, the wind was being a right bitch that day. He walked for a few more blocks, he didn’t want to go his flat right now, that only meant he’d have to go back to studying and problems and _life_. If he hadn’t gotten laid that day then at least he could take a walk and clear his head for a bit.

As the wind got stronger and the clouds grayer, Louis almost went inside a Starbucks. At the last moment he decided against it, he’d rather get wet and catch pneumonia than go inside hell itself. Instead, he walked across the street to a small bistro, he’d get a cup of tea and some biscuits and life would be better, or at least, he hoped so.

As soon as he entered the place, a thunder was heard from outside, and Louis shuddered, he really hated those things.

He sat in a booth next to the window right in the middle of the bistro and clasped his hands as he looked around the place. It sure was cozy, it had various paintings and none of them were creepy, which to Louis was an upgrade from all the other coffee shops he’d visited. There was also soft music, something Louis didn’t recognize and was sure it was an obscure band, but the place still managed to not look like a mating site for hipsters.

Out of nowhere, a woman with bright blonde hair and a grin on her face appeared. “Hi, sir, welcome! Here’s a list of our coffees and teas, so whenever you’re ready to order please do call me.”

Why was she _so_ happy? Louis’ head hurt just by looking at her grin.

He waved a hand of dismissal with a small smile, “No, it’s ok. Just bring me a cup of Yorkshire and the best pastry you’ve got. Make it a chocolate one.” Chocolate was good for days when it rained and you didn’t have sex. Chocolate was good.

The blonde girl smiled and nodded, making her way towards a back door. Louis once again sighed, and he was sure he had sighed a grand total of at least a hundred times in the past hour. 

He looked at the other patrons, the bistro was almost empty, save for a group of three old ladies who kept sipping tea, an Asian man who had his laptop open and hadn’t even had a bite of his already cold cake, a couple who kept glancing lovey stares at each other, and a tall boy who sat at the very corner and kept staring out the window.

Wait—

“Here, sir, your order!” the blonde girl came back with a giant cup of coffee and an even bigger slice of chocolate cake that oozed out even more chocolate out of its insides. That girl knew him well. “If you need anything else, please do tell me.” She hopped— _hopped_ — away to the counter.

Louis’ mouth watered and was about to munch on his chocolate goodness when he remembered something. He looked back to the boy who sat at the very corner. He had curly hair, and fuck.

Louis was sure someone out there hated him, or at least they entertained themselves with the absurdity that was his life. God, he was a sitcom.

Louis wiped the sweat in his hands as he stood up, making his way towards the other boy (Harry? Harry). He didn’t know what he was doing, he just knew that he couldn’t leave the boy alone, not after what had happened; Louis knew the feeling.

The boy was still gazing out the window, unaware of the older boy’s presence. He coughed instead.

The green eyed boy turned to slowly look at him. He stared and stared and Louis wanted to melt.

He looked back to the window, as if Louis hadn’t just asked for his attention.

Ouch, ok, he totally deserved that.

He cleared his throat, “Can I sit here?” he asked in a gentle voice.

Harry didn’t look away from the window. “It’s not my booth, do as you please.”

Louis frowned; he needed to do this right.

He sat opposite of Harry, placing his tea and cake in front of him, both still undisturbed. He took a sip of his tea and instantly relaxed just a tiny bit.

The other boy was still ignoring him.

“I’m sorry,” he blurted, “I didn’t know.”

Harry finally looked at him, a curious look on his face. “Why are you here? Shouldn’t he be here apologizing? Did he send you?”

“Why would he send me of all people?”

“Dan is an idiot of the upper class.”

Louis hums in agreement. “No he didn’t. I didn’t know you were here to be honest. But if it counts for anything, I _am_ sorry.”

“I don’t need pity, especially from you.”

“I know.”

Harry’s stare wavered, he didn’t know what Louis was doing, but to be fair, Louis didn’t know also. He went back to staring outside, at the rain, at the people.

“You want some?” Harry looked back at Louis, only to find the boy with a small smile and offering his chocolate cake to him. Harry seemed to hesitate for a moment, but soon shrugged and nodded.

As Harry took a bite of the cake, Louis finally had the chance to admire the other boy. He was younger than Louis, perhaps a year or two of age difference between them, he had wild brown curls, and his eyes seemed bigger and greener than they had seem a few minutes ago. He was tall and lanky in a very good way, his lips were incredibly red and Louis wasn’t sure if it was because he had bitten on them or they were just naturally red. He wore lots of bracelets on his arms, and beneath a gray jumper a size too big for him, Louis could make out a couple of stark black tattoos. All in all, Harry was really handsome, gorgeous even. Dan had been hot, but Harry was _beautiful_.

“I was expecting it to happen.” Harry suddenly spoke up, surprising Louis and himself. “Eventually, I mean. It was bound to happen, he was an idiot.”

“Then why were you with him?” It seemed like the boundary between the two boys had disappeared, replaced by a chocolate cake and the comfortableness of talking to a stranger.

“Why were _you_ with him?” Harry replied back, glaring at Louis who shrugged.

“He was hot. I haven’t gotten laid in, like, three months, I’ve got exams coming up and my rent is due next week. I think I was bit desperate.”

“He was sweet. At the beginning. At the end we just kind of had sex all the time, apparently it wasn’t enough though.”

Harry didn’t have a clue on why was he even talking to Louis, a complete stranger, about _Dan_. But.

But the chocolate cake was good, rainy days always put him in a good mood, and he really didn’t want to be alone right now.

“You know, my mum and my sister Gemma warned me. They said he was a ‘bad guy’. I didn’t believe them when I should’ve.”

“Mums are usually right, you know?”

“I suppose so.”

Louis sighed, “Harry—wait, that’s your name, right?”

“Yes, and you’re Louis.”

“Yes! How’d you know? Wait, nevermind. Harry, you know, when I saw you I could’ve just left the place and not come over to you.”

“But you didn’t.”

“But I didn’t. You know why?” Harry shakes his head. “Because I know how you feel. And the last thing you need right now is to be alone.”

“What you mean?”

“My boyfriend of three years cheated on me last year.”

Harry didn’t know what to say. What _was_ he supposed to say?

“I’m not saying this because I want to make you feel uncomfortable, Harry, I just—I know how you’re feeling right now, I _know_ that feeling of betrayal because I will never be able to forget it. And I know you shouldn’t be alone, not like I was.”

The silence expanded for a few minutes, Louis bit his lip, looking at the wooden table, unsure if he was supposed to tell Harry all that. He supposed it’s all out there, even if the other boy thinks he’s weird and leaves him there alone, Louis said it. As Louis stared at the table, Harry scrutinized him, eyeing him carefully and thoughtfully.  

“I suppose you must feel horrible about this.” Harry said after a few moments.

Louis lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, “You have no idea, to know I made someone feel the same way I did, or at least be part of it, makes me want to throw up so much, I’m sorry.”

“Alright then.” Harry signaled for the blonde waitress to come over. “Excuse me, could you bring another one of those chocolate cakes? Oh, and two glasses of milk, please.” The girl nodded dutifully, a smile still on her face.

“Another one?”

Harry nodded sagely, “Chocolate is good for the soul.”

Louis really liked Harry.

“And for the dry penis, too.”

For the first time ever, Louis saw Harry smile. And shit. Well, of course he’d have dimples.

The waitress came a few seconds later with two full glasses of milk and another giant slice of cake.

Truth was, Louis was right, Harry needed someone right now, someone to just be there with him, not someone who would hold him and tell him that everything would be fine, no, because Harry _did_ know that, but he just wanted to forget everything; he couldn’t go to his friends nor his mom nor his sister because they all had warned him off Dan, and Harry would just feel stupid. And well, who was better company than a stranger who had suffered through the same thing he did?

“So, Louis, are you from London?”

Louis gave him a bright smile, “No, actually, I’m from Doncaster, Yorkshire and you?”

“ _Really_? I’m from Cheshire myself, from a little town called Holmes Chapel.”

And just like that, Harry found himself sitting in a bistro that was so close to his flat yet, he had never come inside, and baring his soul to a stranger. They talked about Louis’ sisters and how he loved them dearly even though they were too loud, they talked about Harry’s own sister Gemma and how he always used to pull pranks on her and how her boyfriends always ended up liking Harry better. And Louis laughed and laughed until he was red, and Harry cackled loudly when Louis told him he used to have a crush on Radio 1 dj Nick Grimshaw’s voice until he actually saw the man, and Louis laughed with him when Harry replied Nick was a friend of his and he was definitely hearing about this. They also talked about how Harry had gotten an internship in a magazine as a photographer that same day (Louis was the first one to know about it, actually) and how Louis wanted to asphyxiate himself for picking law as his major even though he actually liked it, he just hated semester exams.

They also discovered their shared love for laffy taffys and cats, and how they both knew none other than the crazy Niall Horan.

Louis also could barely restrain himself when Harry got chocolate mousse on his nose and all he wanted was to wipe it off with a kitten lick.

And Harry had to keep himself from blushing when Louis decided to play footsie under the table.

It was nine o’clock and they were sharing tattoo stories when the blonde girl came up to them with an apologetic face on and told them they were closing up. Sure enough, they were the last customers there. They paid the bill (which was a bit high after all the slices of cake they ate) and went outside, relishing in the fresh air the London rain had left behind.

It was after the high of their conversation when Louis spoke up, “Hey, Harry, um, are you going back to your flat? With Dan?”

Harry sighed, “I suppose I am, I mean not _back_ with Dan, but I don’t have anywhere else to go.”

Suddenly Louis blushed, he was crazy, he was positive his mum had dropped him when he was a baby but he still said as quick as he could, “Ifyouwantyoucancometomyflat.”

Harry’s eyes furrowed, “Sorry, didn’t catch that.”

Louis wanted to hit himself, “I _said_ , if you want to, you can come to my flat. Niall will be there, we can order pizza and watch some movies if you want to.”

Harry kept silent for a few moments. “Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to impose or anything.”

Louis smiled at him as he patted his back, “Nah, I don’t mind, you know he won’t mind, I’m sure he’ll want to see you.”

Harry’s face lit up and he nodded, making his curls bounce. It was the cutest thing Louis had ever seen and he was sure Dan was the stupidest man alive.

“Alright, why not?”

_Why not?_

-o-

It was two in the morning, their second movie had finished an hour ago, Niall had fallen asleep half an hour ago, and Louis and Harry were giggling as they tried to imitate the movie’s characters, when Harry received a text message.

Luckily Louis was the one closest to the phone and was the one to grab it.

It was from Dan, he read it silently.

**hey, babe, pls come home. where are you? x**

Louis glared at the text and pursed his lips. Stupid Dan, who the hell did think he was.

“What does it say?” Harry asked curious.

“Wait, I’ll show it to you in a minute.” Louis replied nonchalantly.

He typed in.

**i’m about to fuck louis, bye x**

He took a picture of himself and hit sent.

“What did you do?” laughed Harry as he took his phone from Louis.

He read the two text messages and Louis wondered if he shouldn’t have done that. Maybe Harry did want to go back with Dan, maybe he was going to get mad at Louis for—

Laughter.

Harry was shaking with laughter, he was red in the face and was gasping for air, Louis was sure he was dying.

“Oh, my god, this is too good.” he managed to say between little hiccups.

Louis laughed along with him until they both fell asleep.

-o-

It was about five months since they first met, when Louis and Harry, like every other Friday, met at that cozy non-hipster bistro.

As soon as they both entered, they were attacked by a blonde girl, “The same, right guys?”

Louis laughed and rolled his eyes, “You know it, Perrie. A giant slice of that chocolate cake of yours.”

“Coming right up.” she winked.

“It’s sort of sad, you know, that she knows our orders.” Harry mumbled as they sat in the same booth as always.

“Kind of.” Louis replied with a smile as he nudged Harry.

They sat opposite of each other and, as they waited for their order, they couldn’t help but play footsie underneath the table. Just like every other Friday.

“So, how are Liam and Zayn, huh? Not giving you much trouble?”

Harry laughed, “No, not really. They’re great flat mates, expect they can’t cook for shit.”

“Hey, I don’t either!”

“I know, but I’ll cook for you whenever you want me too.” Harry blushed as he busied himself shredding a napkin with his long fingers.

Louis smiled, his face full of fond (as Niall liked to call it), “I’d like that very much, Harry.”

Harry looked up and returned the smile, just as sweetly as Louis.

“Say, um, Haz, our stupid law class is having a party next weekend and I can take someone with me…would you like to go?” Louis asked, and even though there was a light pink color dusting his cheeks and nose, he kept staring at Harry, unflinching.

They had a silence conversation with their eyes, something they had become very used to by then.

“Like a date?” Harry asked him, stare unwavering.

“Y-yeah, like a date.”Louis replied softly, and he didn’t know what took over him but he suddenly tangled his fingers with Harry’s own.

Something in the air shifted, both boys smiled at each other, and yeah, they both felt it. Harry held onto Louis’ hand too and no, this wasn’t surprising. Because ever since that first day (maybe not the first time they saw each other) when Louis brought that chocolate cake over, sparks flew in a very unexpected way.

“I’d love too.”

And Harry’s words and Louis’ smile was the turning point in their relationship, where they would tell their kids how they started dating.

And when people ask them how they met, they smile at each other, holding off snickers and say, _in a rainy day, over chocolate cake and a boy named Dan._

-o-

the end.


End file.
